Lecture: Finding Innocence That Is Power, Not Vulnerability

Moments after feeling some symptoms of a heart attack and asking a friend to a pray with me, an overwhelming feeling of God’s love washed over me. It relieved the symptoms and also showed me something about what it means to be innocent.

I was in college at the time and had gotten a little off track both in my studies and in some life choices. On top of that I felt resentment over long-term maltreatment by a family member, and heartbroken after a recent breakup with my girlfriend. That overwhelming feeling of love ultimately helped uplift all these areas of my life as well as bring permanent relief from those physical symptoms.

Through my study of Christian Science, I’ve come to see that God is Love itself, which empowers us with God-derived innocence. This innocence is based on God’s unconditional love; it indicates that we’re safe depending on divine Love as our source, and it means we can have an undoubting expectation of good. The very substance of our being is pure and perfect, like our Maker, and cannot change. Our innate innocence means we always deserve to be free from pain, both mental and physical, as I experienced in college and since. And we have the ability to bring freedom and goodness to others, even those that would victimize.

Christian Science has showed me how Christ Jesus’ life illustrated this God-given power, which has nothing to do with the naiveté, vulnerability, or helplessness that society often associates with innocence. I’ve seen that victims are not beyond help and comfort and that victimizers can be reformed. We don’t have to wait to experience the Love that heals.